 This pack is intended for use selectively
in conjunction with other relevant materials published by HM Inspectors
of Schools. It comes as secondary schools look at ways of further
raising the attainment of pupils as part of the national setting-targets
initiative. The strategy for the initiative has been developed through
the work of the Ministerial Action Group on Standards and the paper
Setting Targets - Raising Standards in Schools provides a framework
within which schools can set targets.
The strategies and case studies
highlighted in this pack show that many schools are already making very good progress in
raising pupils' attainment. Research shows that schools do make a difference. Through
self-evaluation, schools can identify the changes required and take responsibility for
taking the required action. |
| The materials in this pack should
help teachers and managers in schools, and education authority officers and advisers to:
|
- identify areas for improvement across the school
and in departments and classrooms
- decide on a range of strategies to raise
standards by building on a positive ethos of achievement and improving the quality of
learning and teaching
- provide a focus for staff development.
|
| |
| Frank Crawford |
HM Chief Inspector of Schools
HMI Audit Unit
August 1998 |
| |
| |
| 1. The importance of
raising attainment |
| Raising standards of attainment is
at the heart of Scottish education. All young people in our schools have the right to
receive an education of high quality which is appropriate to their needs and aptitudes.
They need to develop skills which will help them to contribute effectively to an
increasingly complex and changing society. They should have every opportunity to achieve
their full potential, regardless of social or other background factors and to have their
achievements valued. Raising standards of attainment contributes positively to promoting
social inclusion. |
| |
| 2. So, how are we doing in
Scotland? |
| On the whole, schools in Scotland
are doing well. Performance has been rising steadily at Standard Grade. |
| We must be careful not to be
complacent, however. Attainment at Higher Grade has increased only slightly and reports of
attainment at the earlier secondary school stages do not support a picture of rising
standards. |
- Standards and Quality in Scottish Schools
1992-95 noted under-performance at S1/S2.
- The Assessment of Achievement Programme
(AAP) surveys of English language, mathematics and science and the Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide evidence of weak performance by Scottish
pupils in key aspects of these subjects.
|
| HM Inspectors have also
highlighted significant differences in performance among schools in similar circumstances.
The quality of attainment at S2 gives particular cause for concern. Furthermore, too many
young people leave school each year with nothing to show for up to 12 years of full-time
education. In 1996/97, over 4,000 school leavers achieved no Standard Grade awards at all.
|
| All this evidence suggests the
need for clear and effective action to raise standards and improve quality. |
| |
| 3. Why set targets?
|
| By setting targets, we have
something to aim for and some way of measuring whether we have got there. Whereas some
development plan targets will be qualitative, others, such as those relating to
attainment, are quantitative because the achievements of pupils in this area are measured
in terms of 5-14 levels or Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) awards. You will, of
course, have other ways of measuring how much pupils have benefited from their learning
activities and how appropriate these activities are to their abilities. Qualitative
performance indicators like those in How good is our school? can help you here. For
example, in self-evaluation activities, a school might wish to aim for every PI evaluation
in the key area of learning and teaching to be "good" or "very good"
by eliminating "fair" or "unsatisfactory" elements from lessons.
|
| All schools should already have
targets relating to learning and teaching which we can safely assume have improved
attainment as their expected outcome. What we can now expect is a sharpening of focus so
that the attainment dimension becomes explicit and success becomes measurable. |
| |
| 4. Can targets provide a
focus for improvement? |
| The use of targets builds on the Quality
Initiative in Scottish Schools within which many schools already aim to improve by
setting targets in important aspects of their work, such as the quality of learning and
teaching and ethos. |
| The concern with improving
attainment and the quality of pupils' experience has been the main thrust behind
development planning and is explicitly referred to in the relevant performance indicators
from How good is our school? (PIs 7.2 and 7.3). Indeed, School Development Plans
in Scotland: Circular and Guidelines (Circular 1/94) highlights: |
- the need for schools to engage in systematic
evaluation of their performance across key areas of activity over a period of three years
- the use of both qualitative performance
indicators (such as those in How good is our school?) and quantitative performance
indicators such as examination results and attendance rates
- the need to report on school improvement
activities
- the inclusion within each action plan of specific
targets and criteria for success.
|
| This circular also gives examples
of targets and success criteria. This is one of the examples it gives: |
| Target: to increase the
attainment levels of S4 pupils at Standard Grade. |
| Criteria for success: an
increase of 5% in the number of S4 pupils gaining a Standard Grade (1-3) award. |
| So, setting quantitative targets
is not new. A number of schools have already been doing it quite successfully, following
the original guidelines. Indeed, some education authorities have been considering how to
set targets for all their schools. |
| |
| 5. But what about
self-evaluation? |
| Setting targets would not work if
self-evaluation was not already accepted as the way we do things in Scotland. We have
known for some time that the most effective way of improving the quality of education for
individual pupils is for teachers in schools to evaluate what they, themselves, are doing
and to make the necessary changes. Targets are the logical next step. |
| This means that once you have
agreed your targets with your authority, you will need to take a closer look at specific
areas of activity in your school or department and consider their effect on pupils'
attainment and, once more, the performance indicators from How good is our school?
can help. |
| |
| 6. Targets are for
attainment only. Isn't this rather narrow? |
| Setting targets for attainment
does not mean that other aspects of school life are not important. Indeed, a school where
pupils or staff are unhappy or which does not give them the opportunity to develop their
creative talents is unlikely to have high attainment. Certainly, some of the targets focus
on literacy and numeracy. This is essential as these areas provide access to the rest of
the curriculum. There is no point in providing breadth and balance if pupils cannot take
advantage of this, and pupils develop these skills across the curriculum, not just in
English or mathematics. However, in most schools the breadth of the curriculum is not an
issue: pupils will continue to have the wide and varied diet which they have enjoyed for
some years. Schools will set their own targets for attendance and are encouraged to set
targets in other important areas, such as improving punctuality, ethos and the quality of
learning and teaching. |
| |
| 7. How will we know what to
do to achieve the targets? |
| We know that attainment is heavily
dependent on a number of factors. A lot of professional advice has been published
recently. In addition to national guidelines 5-14, there are publications such as: |
- Effective Learning and Teaching in Scottish
Secondary Schools
- Achievement for All
- Improving Mathematics Education 5-14
- Achieving Success in S1/S2.
|
| The effective collaboration among
schools, education authorities and HM Inspectors has resulted in publications such as Making
it happen in 12 schools (1996), Taking a closer look at guidance (1998) and Making
it happen using performance indicators (1998). National support for the
setting-targets initiative includes regular newsletters to keep teachers informed of
progress (also present on the Scottish Office website), seminars to share information and
provide opportunities for discussion, and guidance for teachers on the implications for
their current practice. |
| There is also likely to be support
available within your authority and from teacher education institutions. |
| |
| 8. Contents of this support
pack: an overview |
| This pack provides your school
with a range of staff development materials to support your work in raising standards. The
contents are as follows: |
- Making a difference in Scottish schools
- Taking a closer look at attainment in secondary
schools
- Case studies from secondary schools
- Gender issues in raising attainment.
|
| |
| 8.1 Making a difference in Scottish
schools |
| This paper outlines some of the
key findings and issues from the recently completed Improving School Effectiveness
Project (ISEP) which was commissioned by SOED in 1994. The project had two main aims:
|
- to develop a value-added framework for Scottish
schools, taking account of factors outside schools' control, mainly socio-economic
factors, which affect attainment
- to study the characteristics and activities
taking place in different types of schools to ascertain which processes might be
associated with the value added, for example, their ethos and approaches to effective
learning and teaching.
|
| A third aspect of the project
focused on the question 'How do schools improve?'. |
| In all, 36 Scottish secondary
schools were involved and judgements about effectiveness were based on the progress of
their pupils from S2 to S4. The findings of the project demonstrate clearly that schools
can outperform predictions based on pupils' circumstances and prior attainment and that
pupils in some schools in very disadvantaged areas are performing well above expectations.
Schools make a difference. |
| |
| 8.2 Taking a closer look at attainment
in secondary schools |
| An important aspect of improving
schools is to ensure the appropriate analysis of information on performance. This package
provides guidance to schools on the analysis of 5-14 attainment levels and SQA examination
results. It discusses how you might set targets within your school and for individual
pupils. There is an explanation of how to use raw data from SQA together with the
information contained in a school's Standard Tables to highlight issues and identify steps
to make improvements. The staff development material suggests practical activities which
can be used as they are or adapted to suit the needs of particular in-service training
sessions both within schools or by local authorities during seminars or conferences.
|
| |
| 8.3 Case studies from secondary schools
|
| Education authorities identified a
number of secondary schools which were considered to have taken specific steps to improve
attainment and to have made good progress. A selection of these were visited and good
practice identified. Each case study outlines the steps taken in the school and the
resultant improvements in attainment. |
| |
| 8.4 Gender issues in raising attainment
|
| The results of national
examinations show that girls are doing better than boys generally. Research has indicated
clearly that there is under-achievement by boys, although gender differences in
educational achievement are complex. This paper highlights the issue by presenting summary
SQA examination data and sets out a range of steps and initiatives schools can take to
help address under-achievement by boys. |
| |
| Selected further
reading |
| Achievement for All. SOEID, 1996.
|
| Achievement of Primary 4 and
Primary 5 Pupils in Mathematics and Science: Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS). SOEID, 1997. |
| Achievement of Secondary 1 and
Secondary 2 Pupils in Mathematics and Science: Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS). SOEID, 1996. |
| Achieving Success in S1/S2. SOEID,
1997. |
| Assessment of Achievement
Programme - AAP: English Survey 1995. SOEID, 1996. |
| Assessment of Achievement
Programme - AAP: Mathematics Survey 1994. SOEID, 1996. |
| Assessment of Achievement
Programme - AAP: Science Survey 1996. SOEID, 1998. |
| Effective Learning and Teaching in
Scottish Secondary Schools, (series). SOED/SOEID, HMSO. |
| The following were published
between 1990 and 1998 and were available at May 1998: Modern Languages; English;
History; Modern Studies; Mathematics; Computing Studies; Religious Education; The
Sciences; Geography; Physical Education; Home Economics; Guidance; and Business Studies.
|
| Effective Provision for Special
Educational Needs. SOED, 1994. |
| How good is our school?:
Self-evaluation using performance indicators. HMI Audit Unit, 1996. |
| Improving Achievement in Scottish
Schools. SOEID, 1996. |
| Improving Mathematics Education
5-14. SOEID, 1997. |
| Making it happen in 12 Schools.
HMI Audit Unit, 1996. |
| Making it happen using performance
indicators. SOEID, 1998. |
| School Development Plans in
Scotland: Circular and Guidelines (Circular 1/94). SOED, 1994. |
| Setting Targets - Raising
Standards in Schools. SOEID, 1998. |
| Standards and Quality in Scottish
Schools 1992-95. SOEID, HMSO, 1996. |
| Taking a closer look at guidance.
SOEID, 1998. |
| The Role of School Development
Plans in Managing School Effectiveness, (MER 5), Second Edition. SOED, 1994. |
